#lighting companies in qatar

[businessarticlesclone]

LED Lights Shops in Qatar: Illuminating the Future of Lighting Technology

In recent years, the lighting industry has witnessed a paradigm shift with the rapid adoption of LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights. Qatar, known for its relentless pursuit of innovation and sustainable development, has embraced this revolutionary lighting technology. In this article, we will explore the emergence of Led Lights Shops In Qatar and delve into why they are the future of lighting technology.

I. The Rise of LED Lights Shops in Qatar: 

Demand for Energy-Efficient Lighting: Qatar, a nation committed to reducing its carbon footprint, has recognized the importance of energy-efficient lighting solutions. LED lights, with their impressive energy-saving capabilities, have gained immense popularity among individuals, businesses, and the government. 

Government Initiatives: The Qatari government has played a crucial role in promoting LED lights through various initiatives. These include financial incentives, regulations, and awareness campaigns, encouraging consumers and businesses to make the switch to LED lighting. 

Technological Advancements: LED technology has advanced significantly, offering improved quality, efficiency, and versatility. The increased lifespan of LED lights and their ability to produce vibrant and customizable lighting have contributed to their rising popularity in Qatar.

II. Benefits of LED Lights Shops in Qatar: 

Energy Efficiency: LED lights are renowned for their energy efficiency, consuming up to 80% less energy than traditional lighting options. This not only reduces electricity bills but also aligns with Qatar's sustainability goals by conserving energy resources. 

Longevity and Durability: Compared to conventional lighting options, LED lights have a significantly longer lifespan. With an average operational life of 50,000 to 100,000 hours, they outlast incandescent bulbs by several orders of magnitude. LED lights are also highly durable, with resistance to shock, vibrations, and extreme temperatures, making them ideal for Qatar's harsh climatic conditions. 

Environmentally Friendly: LED lights do not contain hazardous substances like mercury, which is found in fluorescent lights. By choosing LED lights, Qatar can reduce its environmental impact and promote a cleaner and greener future. 

Customization and Design Flexibility: LED lights offer unparalleled design flexibility, allowing users to create various lighting effects, color temperatures, and ambiance. This versatility makes them suitable for a wide range of applications, including residential, commercial, and outdoor lighting.

III. The Future of Lighting Technology in Qatar: 

Smart Lighting Integration: 

Qatar's commitment to becoming a smart city aligns perfectly with the advancements in LED lighting technology. LED lights can be seamlessly integrated into smart lighting systems, enabling automated controls, energy monitoring, and dynamic lighting scenarios. This integration enhances energy efficiency, convenience, and overall user experience. 

Internet of Things (IoT) Connectivity: 

As the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to evolve, LED lights can be connected to a network, enabling communication and data exchange. This connectivity opens up possibilities for adaptive lighting, sensor-based applications, and innovative services, transforming Qatar's lighting infrastructure. 

Reduced Maintenance and Operational Costs: 

The extended lifespan and low maintenance requirements of LED lights translate into significant cost savings for consumers and businesses. Reduced replacement frequency, lower energy consumption, and minimal upkeep contribute to long-term financial benefits, making LED lights an economically viable choice. 

Enhanced Quality of Life: 

The quality of lighting plays a crucial role in human well-being and productivity. LED lights offer superior lighting quality with improved color rendering, glare reduction, and flicker-free illumination. By prioritizing lighting quality through LED lights, Qatar can enhance the comfort, safety, and overall quality of life for its residents.

Conclusion: 

LED lights shops in Qatar have become the epitome of lighting technology, representing a sustainable, energy-efficient, and innovative solution for the nation. As Qatar strives towards its goals of sustainability and smart city development, LED lights have emerged as the go-to lighting technology for both residential and commercial applications.

The rise of LED lights shops in Qatar is a testament to the benefits and advantages this lighting technology offers. From energy efficiency to longevity, environmental friendliness to design flexibility, LED lights have revolutionized the lighting industry in Qatar and are poised to shape its future in remarkable ways.

By embracing LED lights, Qatar is not only reducing its energy consumption but also lowering its carbon footprint. The energy efficiency of LED lights is unmatched, allowing significant reductions in electricity bills while contributing to a greener environment. With the Qatari government's support and initiatives, LED lights have become more accessible and affordable for individuals and businesses alike.

In addition to energy efficiency, the longevity and durability of LED lights make them an attractive choice in Qatar's demanding climate. With a lifespan that far surpasses traditional lighting options, LED lights require less frequent replacements, reducing maintenance costs and inconvenience. Moreover, LED lights are highly resilient to harsh conditions such as extreme temperatures and vibrations, ensuring reliable performance in Qatar's challenging environment.

One of the key advantages of LED lights is their eco-friendly nature. Unlike fluorescent lights that contain mercury, LED lights are free from harmful substances, making them safe for both human health and the environment. Qatar's commitment to sustainability is further reinforced by the use of LED lights, contributing to a cleaner and healthier future.

LED lights also offer unparalleled customization and design flexibility. With the ability to adjust color temperatures, create dynamic lighting effects, and even integrate with smart lighting systems, LED lights allow users to tailor their lighting experience according to their preferences. Whether it's creating a cozy ambiance at home or setting the mood in a commercial space, LED lights provide limitless possibilities.

Looking ahead, LED lights are set to play an even more significant role in Qatar's lighting landscape. The integration of smart lighting systems and IoT connectivity will enable seamless automation and control, enhancing energy efficiency and user experience. Qatar's vision of becoming a smart city will be further realized through the integration of LED lights into intelligent lighting networks.

Furthermore, LED lights' long lifespan and reduced maintenance requirements translate into substantial cost savings for consumers and businesses. The initial investment in LED lights is quickly offset by lower energy consumption and reduced replacement frequency. By choosing LED lights, Qatar can achieve long-term financial benefits while enjoying the advantages of superior lighting quality.

In conclusion, LED lights shops in Qatar are at the forefront of lighting technology, paving the way for a sustainable, efficient, and innovative lighting future. With their energy efficiency, longevity, environmental friendliness, and design flexibility, LED lights have transformed the way Qatar illuminates its spaces. As the nation progresses towards its goals of sustainability and smart city development, LED lights will continue to shine brightly as the future of lighting technology in Qatar.

Check out the newest arrivals of LED lights from the best Lighting Solutions Qatar, Led Lighting Companies In Qatar, and Lighting Companies In Qatar.

[arunima123]

Brighten Up Your Life: The Rise of LED Lighting in Qatar

Lighting plays a crucial role in our daily lives, from providing illumination for tasks and activities to setting the mood and ambiance of our surroundings. With the rise of LED technology, lighting solutions have become more energy-efficient, sustainable, and versatile. In Qatar, the lighting industry has seen significant growth, with a focus on both commercial and residential lighting. In this article, we will explore the benefits of LED lighting, highlight some of the top LED lights shops in Qatar and lighting companies in Qatar, and discuss the future of lighting in the country.

The Benefits of LED Lighting

LED lighting has revolutionized the lighting industry, providing numerous benefits over traditional lighting solutions such as incandescent and fluorescent bulbs. Some of the key advantages of LED lighting include:z

Energy efficiency: LED lights are more energy-efficient than traditional lighting solutions, consuming up to 90% less energy. This can result in significant cost savings on energy bills and reduced carbon emissions.

Longevity: LED lights have a much longer lifespan than traditional bulbs, lasting up to 50,000 hours or more. This means fewer replacements and maintenance costs over time.

Durability: LED lights are highly durable and resistant to shock, vibration, and extreme temperatures. They are ideal for use in harsh environments and outdoor lighting applications.

Versatility: LED lights come in a range of color temperatures and can be customized to suit different lighting needs and preferences. They are also highly compatible with smart lighting systems, allowing for easy control and automation.

Commercial Lighting

Commercial lighting refers to lighting solutions used in non-residential spaces such as offices, retail stores, factories, and public buildings. In commercial lighting, the emphasis is not only on aesthetic appeal but also functionality, safety, and energy efficiency. Good commercial lighting can enhance productivity, create a safe and comfortable environment, and reduce energy costs.

In Qatar, there are several lighting companies that specialize in commercial lighting solutions. These companies offer a range of services, from design and installation to maintenance and repair. Some of the top lighting companies in Qatar include Al Malki Trading and Contracting Company, Al Shoumoukh Trading & Contracting, and Al-Futtaim Engineering & Technologies. These companies work with clients from various industries, providing customized solutions to meet their unique lighting needs.

Residential Lighting

Residential lighting refers to lighting solutions used in homes, apartments, and other residential spaces. In residential lighting, the focus is on creating a comfortable and inviting atmosphere while providing sufficient light for various activities. LED lighting has become increasingly popular in residential settings due to its energy efficiency, durability, and versatility.

In Qatar, there are several LED lights shops that specialize in lighting solutions for homes. These shops offer a wide range of LED lighting options, including ceiling lights, wall lights, chandeliers, and lamps. Some of the top LED lights shops in Qatar include Light in Design, Lighting Concepts, and Qatar LED Lighting. These shops offer a range of styles and designs to suit different tastes and preferences, from modern and minimalist to traditional and ornate.

In addition to LED lighting shops, there are also lighting companies in Qatar that specialize in residential lighting design and installation. These companies offer a range of services, from initial consultation and design to installation and maintenance. Some of the top residential lighting companies in Qatar include Al Misnad Trading & Contracting, BMS International Trading, and United Technology Solutions. These companies work with homeowners to create customized lighting solutions that enhance their homes' beauty and functionality.

The Future of Lighting in Qatar

As the demand for energy-efficient and sustainable lighting solutions continues to grow, LED technology is expected to play an increasingly significant role in Qatar's lighting industry. The government of Qatar has also recognized the importance of sustainability and energy efficiency and has implemented several initiatives to promote sustainable development in the country, including the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the Qatar Green Building Council.

In line with these initiatives, the lighting industry in Qatar is expected to focus on developing smart lighting solutions that can be integrated with other systems such as HVAC, security, and building automation. Smart lighting systems can help reduce energy consumption by automatically adjusting lighting levels based on occupancy and natural light levels, among other factors.

Another trend that is expected to shape the future of lighting in Qatar is the use of human-centric lighting. Human-centric lighting refers to lighting solutions that mimic natural daylight and can have a positive impact on human health and well-being. Studies have shown that exposure to natural light can improve mood, productivity, and overall health. Human-centric lighting can also help regulate sleep patterns, which is particularly important in areas where natural light is limited.

Conclusion

The rise of LED technology has transformed the lighting industry, providing energy-efficient and sustainable solutions for both commercial and residential settings. In Qatar, LED lighting has become increasingly popular, with several LED lights shops and lighting companies offering a range of customized solutions to meet the unique needs and preferences of clients.

Looking forward, the lighting industry in Qatar is expected to focus on developing smart lighting solutions and human-centric lighting that can help reduce energy consumption and promote well-being. As Qatar continues to prioritize sustainability and green initiatives, we can expect to see continued growth and innovation in the lighting industry in the years to come.

[lightspeedtc]

Optimise Your Space Using Plastic Storage for Effective Warehouse Management

Plastic storage is a crucial aspect of warehouse management, particularly in Doha. Light Speed Trading Company, a leading plastic storage supplier in Qatar, offers solutions to optimize warehouse operations. By utilizing plastic pallets, businesses can optimize their space, improve inventory accessibility, reduce operational costs, and ensure safety. Plastic storage offers several benefits, including durability, cost-effectiveness, flexibility in design and usage, lightweight and easy-to-handle, and space optimization. By implementing well-organized plastic storage systems, businesses can focus on more critical aspects of their operations, ultimately saving time and money.

Light Speed Trading Company offers a range of plastic storage solutions for businesses in Doha, including plastic pallets, containers, totes, and shelving units. These products are designed to optimize warehouse space, reduce operational costs, and improve productivity. By partnering with Light Speed Trading Company, businesses can access a comprehensive selection of high-quality products, customizable storage solutions, competitive pricing, reliable customer service, and fast delivery across Qatar. By investing in plastic storage supplier in qatar, businesses can enhance their warehouse efficiency, reduce operational costs, and improve overall profitability. Read More

[qatarsteel]

Ultimate Insulation with Steelco's Light and Medium PU Foam Spray in Qatar | Qatar Steel Factory

Steelco's Light and Medium PU Foam Spray is strong adhesive and high performance. Filling joints between wall, ceiling, floors, gaps around pipes, windows or door frames leading to air-tight, waterproof, sound and thermal insulation. Order now at qatarsteelfactory.com!

[judeloverr]

Any Trent smutty story plz?

missed me- trent alexander arnold

trent alexander arnold x reader

warnings: smut, oral (f) praising- this is my first smut so don’t judge me please lol

word count : 1.7k

authors note: have a feeling i’ll get embarrassed then delete it so i’m not going to look at this again even though i have now smut fics coming out lol- thankyou for all the love on my other fics- thankyou for the request hope you enjoy

“how far are you” you asked your boyfriend who was on the phone with you, your phone pressed against your shoulder by your ear while you made your self a drink.

“about 10 minutes, there’s traffic” he spoke softly, excitement filled your body as you knew you would see your boyfriend after him being away for 2 weeks at the world cup. you had seen him on the tv when you watched the matches, but not actually being with him and not touching him was different.

“okay i’ll see you soon bye”

“bye” trent ended the call, you took your phone and placed it on the counter and put the drink cartoon back in the fridge. you made your way over to the couch and sat down.

10 minutes had passed and you hear the from door open and you hear the dogs bark and run straight to the door, you get up from the couch and make you way to the front door. trent is crouched down to the floor greeting the dogs with his luggage behind him. you lean against the door way not making your presence known until he looks up and shows an affectionate smile, you see the corner of his eyes crinkle and he stands up and makes his way over to you.

“hi” he softly says and wraps his arms tightly around your waist, your arms wrap around his neck and squeeze him slightly.

“hi” you whispered back and feel his hands go under your shirt and caress your hips lightly. his head falls into the crook of your neck and kisses the skin under your jaw gently. you stand holding each other in comfortable silence just enjoying each others company.

trent let’s go of your waist and takes his head from the crook of your neck to look at you, your hands stayed loosely around his neck, faces so close your lips were almost touching.

“i missed you” he voice was soft, you could tell he was very tired which was understandable due to all the travelling back from Qatar. you smiled gently and replied by pressing your mouth against his to show how much you missed him, you felt trent’s lashes against your cheek when he closed his eyes. when you pulled away trent had a warm smile on his lips, you kissed his cheek and the corner of his mouth and released yourself from your boyfriend.

“i missed you too, do you want something to eat?” you questioned and made your way towards the kitchen.

“nah, i ate on the plane, i just want a shower then to go to bed” he admited, he followed behind you and watched you put the remaining glasses in the dishwasher, his eyes followed down your body, focusing on the way your legs and ass moved in your shorts and when you bent over to get somthing from the other side of the counter.

“oka- are you checking me out?” you snigger and see his eyes move from quickly from your ass and up to your face, his face goes a little pink.

“no i wasn’t” trent replies and lazily leans against the doorway of the kitchen.

“hm sure” you nod your head.

“i’m going to shower now, wanna join?” trent says while removing his england jumper.

“no it’s fine, i had one earlier before you arrived” you said and watched his muscles move under his tight shirt. trent nodded while turning around and heading up to your shared bed room, the shower turned on signalling that trent was now showering. after finishing the dishwasher you tuned off all the lights and said goodnight to the dogs.

the bathroom door was shut when you walked into your bedroom, you could hear trent shuffling around. your sleepwear was always trent’s shirts so you retrieved another one from the draw and put it on and removed your shirts now only left in pants and a shirt.

the bathroom door opens, trapped steam escapes the bathroom as-well as your boyfriend clad in only a pair of Calvin klien boxers. you watch as he walks towards his draw where you just were, his well defined abs move slightly when he walks, when at the draw he has his back to you, you see the his muscular muscles move when he does. you divert your eyes away from your boyfriend and feel a blush appear on your cheek. you know he’s all yours but he still have that affect on you that makes your knees buckle.

you move the duvet and get into the bed, trent following straight after you.

“fuck me it’s cold here” he complains and gets under the duvet to get more comfortable.

“no it’s you aren’t used to it yet, bet qatar was really warm” you move on your side facing him and put your hand under your head so you can lean on it. trent copies your position but moves his entire body close to yours, nearly touching.

“yeah it was, was at first difficult to train in, but we all got used to it in the end” trent’s hand moves to your face and brushes a stand of hair out of your face and behind your ear. his hand falls to the side of your face, just below your jaw. the pad of his thumb rubs your jawline soothingly. trent’s eyes lock with yours and before you know it his lips are on your mouth.

trent’s lips move hungrily against yours and you kiss him back, leaning closer to his body and placing your hand on his face and the other on the nape of his neck. trent shuffles around and placed him self above you, slotted between your open legs.

his plump lips break from yours and attach to your jaw, heavy pants leaving your lips as you try and catch your breath when he places open wet kisses along your neck, sucking on the skin definitely leaving some marks.

“you don’t understand how much i fucking missed you” trent mumbles into your neck still leaving sloppy kisses there.

“show me” you moan out when trent sucks on your sweet spot just below your ear. “show me how much you missed me”

“dont you worry i will” trent whisper lowly into your ear. you could feel yourself becoming for arosued and beginning to feel desperate for him. you felt trent hands tug your shirt, you sat up quickly lifting your arms and allowing him to remove your shirt, letting your breasts be free, the cold hitting your nipples making them pucker out.

a whimper leaves your lips when trent’s wraps his lips around your nipple, hands holding your boobs and begins to lap his tongue around it. trent pushes you back into the bed, knee between your thighs, pressing against your heat. you subconsciously begin to grind against his thigh.

trent’s lips travel and kiss down your stomach and towards your panties, you lift you head up to watch him as his eyes lock with yours when he removes the clothing.

now bare in front of him he mutters “you’re so beautiful”

“trent” you whine, nudging is shoulder with your calf indicating for him to touch you.

“eager are we?” he teases, stroking the inside of your thigh travelling closer to pussy. your whole body jolts and a moan leaves your mouth when his lips wrap around your clit and starts to suction. you moan loudly, reaching down to his hair to pull it. you feel the pleasure building up at a frantic rate and the familiar heat pooling in your lower back as trent laps your swollen clit.

back arching with pleasure trent knows you are close, cockiness and pride fills his body as he knows how to get you to orgasm hard and fast. your hips twitch, legs pushing against his shoulders.

“trent please” a soft whimper fell from your lips as soon as trent pulled away from you, your hips grinding on air to find some sort of friction. trent pulls down his boxers to let himself free, he grabs hold of his cock and teases his tip through your folds and circles your clit at a painfully slow rate. trent grabs your thighs and swiftly pulls you closer to him. he leans over your body still not inside you, his face over yours kissing you deeply while lining up his cock at your entrance and slotting himself into you in one fast thrust.

your hand wraps around his neck, heavy pants leaving your open mouth which is joined by trent’s when he pulls out a pushes himself back into, his thrusts making your body twitch.

“fuuuck” a long groan leaves trent’s mouth when you pull on his hair, his lips kissing down your jaw and neck while his thrusts speed up with paste.

trents hand goes down to your throbbing clit, touching it making another moan escape and your body clenching as his fingers press firmly on it.

“shit” a high pitch whine is released when his finger speed up over your clit while he pounds into you relentlessly. “i’m gonna come” you whimper into his ear, back arching as the climax approaches.

“i know baby i know, you can come” trent lets out a shaky breath, thrusts becoming sloppy as you know the pleasure for him will hit its climax aswell like yours. with one last powerful thrust trent’s hips stutter while you clench around his cock as you arch your bag, legs shaking from your incoming orgasm.

“f-fuck, it feels so good ” you moan, eyes rolling to the back, twitching uncontrollably while trent sucks your neck to bring your orgasm on more. you hear trent groaning and moaning your name while your walls flutter around his cock bringing his orgasm out. his abs twitch while he comes inside of you, and he watches your chest go up and down uncontrollably while you recover after your orgasm. while still panting heavily trent slumps on top of your, head on your sweaty chest, your fingers scratching his head lightly while he overcomes his orgasm.

“you did miss me huh?” you question with a breathless laugh.

“yeah i did. a lot”

[girlactionfigure]

🟦 COLLAPSED TALKS THAT KEEP GOING? - MORNING NEWS

ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

▪️US AIRCRAFT CARRIER LINCOLN.. arrives in the Middle East.

▪️TERROR - SAMARIA - IED.. terrorists threw a bomb from a passing vehicle towards the wall near Beit El (A).

▪️The parents of the kidnapped Hersh Goldberg-Polin will spoke at the Democratic convention.

▪️ECONOMY - INSURANCE.. the seven insurance companies will refund close to a billion shekels to hundreds of thousands of policyholders ifor a fee that was charged without informing the customers.

♦️LEBANON - LARGE WAVE OF AIRSTRIKES.. overnight. Aita El Sha'ab, Al Khayyam, Shuba, Mhabib, Wadi Alaziya, Ramya, Nabatia, Kotharit Al Said, Adlon.  IDF: Overnight, the IAF struck Hezbollah terror targets in more than 10 different areas in southern Lebanon.

♦️GAZA - AIRSTRIKES.. this morning. Loud explosions are clearly heard in many areas in southern Israel.

♦️SAMARIA - COUNTER-TERROR OPS - TULKARM.. overnight.  An IDF D9 dozer was hit by a mine and caught fire.  2 airstrikes!  Forces closed in on a building in the nearby village of Aktaba and fired a shoulder-fired missile at it - a number of arrests were made inside the building.

⭕”only” 1 round of ROCKETS from HEZBOLLAH at Rosh HaNikra overnight.

🔸DEAL NEWS.. Senior officials in the Israeli security system: “(US Sec State) Blinken made a mistake when he told the truth that Hamas is the obstacle to the deal and not Netanyahu.”

.. Representatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad met in Qatar, and announce - the ceasefire talks have collapsed:  "The movements emphasized that any negotiation should include a complete withdrawal of the IDF from the Strip. We place the responsibility for the failure of the mediators' efforts on Israel.

.. Washington Post report: In the US it is estimated that Hamas leader Sinwar is interested in the deal because he is "imprisoned" underground and Hamas suffers from a shortage of ammunition and supplies.  

.. ( Notice the conflict with the statement from the terror movements - the US sources all are giving reasons why negotiations should succeed - while the terror movements continue to not move an inch while blaming Israel.  Similarly notice daily US statements demanding Israeli flexibility, but only once have we heard about Hamas being intransigent. )

.. US Pres. Biden spoke to PM Netanyahu: Biden emphasized the urgency of reaching a cease-fire agreement and the release of the abductees and discussed the removal of obstacles the latest in the deal.

🔹Sources close to Hezbollah: 'As soon as Hamas officially declares that the talks are over, from Hezbollah's point of view it will be a green light for a response to Shukar's assassination' and perhaps even immediately.

[jmdbjk]

So I'm writing this because of a convo with my bestie who said:

"Ferg, have you considered writing a blog addressing the wrong headed assumption that the members were "forced" to create the Festa content that we got today? How the people pushing that agenda are not looking at what was happening in their lives at the time said content was filmed. They always want us to have pictures and music at Festa. They WANT to create that content. If they were "forced" it wasn't by the company, it was by the calendar and the government. With no (military) exemption, they understood that the only time to come up with OT7 music or pictures was before mid December (2022). And drilling down, the only time was in October. RIGHT when they hit the final acceptance that they would all start enlisting and the foreseeable future was actually not foreseeable at all. Their hearts were extra heavy that within a few weeks they would say goodbye to Jin. Yoongi was dealing with severe writers block and, I think, feeling guilty that he was going to miss his deadline for the first time EVER. RM was working toward the release of Indigo. Kookie was looking at heading to Qatar. Yada yada. So with all that....they had to try and look light hearted. They didn't. The anxious vibes come right off the screen. We all feel it but many are not interpreting it right. You know, the ones who already are quick to blame everything on the company."

Or the ones who only view everything through a shipper or solo lens and say the guys hate each other.

The members, who filmed this video months ago, filmed this with pure sincerity and love for us knowing they would not all be available to do anything for us for their 10th Anniversary Festa in June 2023. How must that have felt to them? To know that their milestone 10th Anniversary would not play out like they had envisioned way back in 2020? They thought they'd start enlisting by the end of 2020 and be finished with MS by now, so they'd be together in 2023. They had to try to come up with something spectacular for us and for themselves so that 3 years after that hot mess, we could celebrate with them. They deserve to celebrate themselves as well, they worked so hard over the past ten years.

Its the end of 2022. They looked a little tired. We know 2022 had some heartbreaking moments for them. By this time they were juggling their own projects AND the Busan concert preparation.

Hobi was ever-present sunshine, yet maybe he had a lot on his mind? Was he already thinking about his next projects and starting to contemplate an earlier than planned enlistment? We know Yoongi was trying to put finishing touches on D-Day. We know Jimin was working on at least one collab as well as his own MV concepts and promotion activities for Face and working out details for his fashion ambassadorships. Tae was busy exploring new things with fashion brands and tv shows. RM was finalizing his Indigo promotions. Jin was about to announce his enlistment plans. JK was prepping for Qatar. And here they were thinking ahead to June 2023.

I think they filmed this Festa video within days of the Busan concert. Either before or after. Remember we had a VHopeKookMin live right after the concert. I would also venture to say they also filmed this the same day as the Festa photoshoot (Love Myself campaign promo released end of November 2022):

Yet they still thoughtfully planned and executed things to be released for Festa. Concepts were conceptualized and the company took it from there and we see they've done a great job procuring deep-pocketed sponsors.

I don't understand the whole "they need to go start their own label" mindset either. I've already said it several times... they already did that, it's called BigHit Music. If BTS don't re-sign a contract its because they are retiring from releasing music. What IS plausible is a member or two starting an independent label for other up-and-coming artists so they can write and/or produce for them... all still under the HYBE umbrella.

During this solo era, I want to say things like "I think we can all agree ... [insert almost anything]" but I can't say that these days because, in my opinion, the fandom (on Twitter and other soc med platforms) has fractured into so many different factions who seem to spend a lot of time pitting themselves against other parts of the fandom for everything and anything they can find to nitpick, criticize, compare and compete with, to be angry about, that no one agrees on anything. This member is better than that member or ... and this one galls me... the company is forcing them to do this or that OR [insert member's name] sabatoged [insert other member's name].

Twitter Army yelling at Weverse Army "YOU'RE NOT DOING IT RIGHT!" Who designated Twitter Army as the dictator of all things BTS?

People berating others for not streaming the music, or trying to humiliate followers into streaming 'CORRECTLY'. The conspiracy theorists–don't get me started on that. The dissatisfaction with how the solo projects have rolled out. The constant comparison and competition of which member has the most streams in a certain time frame, who has the most songs on the chart for the longest, fastest, more countries, more collabs, more awards...whatever... It's all "my way or the highway/[member name] is the best" and it is really disappointing and tiresome to see the enormous waste of energy.

And if you are still reading, I am totally on board with what another blogger said the other day about how the entire Kpop fandom has this Kpop culture mindset deeply rooted in their way of thinking. It colors their view of EVERYTHING: that artists are treated badly by their record labels/entertainment companies to the point of being physically abused, artists are not paid well, artists are forced to do things and play roles... adhere to strict rules, etc.. because that's how the oldest companies started and some are still operating today (looking at you SM Entertainment).

That "business model" may have been "the way" in the beginning of the kpop industry because no one stood up and called them out on it. So people have come to think EVERY entertainment company operates that way when we've been shown and told over and over by many HYBE employees that its a great place to work. MANY people OUTSIDE the company, staff and other people in the music industry including other artists are blown away at the innovation and forward thinking of the company and we've even heard the members themselves say that they love their company.

Of course no company is perfect, there will be mistakes made, bad decisions, wrong projections, etc. but out of all the entertainment companies, BigHit, Bang PD and BTS have strived to change the system from the start and our own "fans" are being brainless shitheads and talking trash.

Also, HYBE can't come over here to the United States and start auditioning young people for new groups if they are operating like SM Entertainment. That shit ain't gonna fly over here. You'll have a lawsuit in a blink of an eye as soon as someone gets a whiff of sexual harassment or physical abuse of a minor. A carefully built and protected reputation would be ruined, not just Hybe's but BTS's and every other artist under Hybe's labels as well.

Yes, some things we've seen make us scratch our heads... the tight back to back release of Jimin and Yoongi's work had us all wondering what happened. Yes, Jimin's very abbreviated promotion period for Face was frustrating and disappointing. But no one knows what went on behind the scenes. If neither Jimin or Yoongi comes out and tells us what happened then I will just move forward like they are. If either of them made a mistake, we might not ever know of it, but they will correct it going forward. If the company was the one who miscalculated, they too will correct that in the future. We can call it out when we see it happening but there is no reason to dwell on it. I don't see anything positive or productive about the continued pointing fingers to blame, holding grudges and continuing to speak negatively when it's plain the members of BTS love us, work hard to show us that and deserve only to see our love reflecting back at them.

Ok so I've ranted long enough.

[Public Service Announcement: if I don't talk enough about your favorite member, or if I don't say things you want to hear about whatever is your hill you chose to die on, there is a block button way up there and also this nifty thing you can do called "scroll" that lets you ... wait for it... scroll! past my blog post so you don't have to expose yourself to my words. Its not that hard. Really. Otherwise, its all on you.]

[footballdesires]

the perfect surprise, mason mount ───────────────────────────────────────── pairing: mason mount, she/her summary: requested by anon the request: Hello, can u make something fluff with Mason ?───────────────────────────────────────── requests are open, request away! ─────────────────────────────────────────

the departure day for the world cup in qatar came faster than expected. with two days left until having to leave the home country to win the trophy, mason played with disparate ideas to prove his admiration to his girlfriend one more time. 

as the public relations manager of a large technology company, she couldn’t disappear for weeks to watch mason play for the english national team. her boss declined the request for vacation and offered her one day, instead of relaxing from the constant extra hours after the long shifts. 

so, mason found a way to express his feelings face to face before having to leave her in england. sweaty hands rubbed over the tired muscles of his face, glancing nervously at the silver watch around his right wrist. a present from her, a reminder that no matter where he went, she would be right by his side. 

the bright sun slowly sunk, cascading the hues of a peaceful orange and a calm red across the sky. between the cotton-like, white clouds, the tint of mixed color could have been painted by a talented, undiscovered artist. “mason?” the name, gently and quietly spoken, caught the attention of the football player. 

for a moment, he bathed in the sound of her voice. he didn’t need to turn around and see a glimpse of the female’s face, he recognized the tone between a million others. the hands pushed into the tight front pockets of the jeans, mason stayed in the same position. rooted to the green blades of grass underneath his feet, she slowly walked towards the male figure. 

she gulped down the breath that settled in the tightened throat, expecting that she has made a wrong choice or mason was truly displeased with a decision. he never easily ignored her if the two weren’t deeply in an argument. 

arm outstretched, the soft tips of the fingers desired to tap on his broad shoulder when she had the chance to see a glimpse of the little preparation made in front of him. frozen in the pose, the mouth fell open and the surprise conjured a dazzled expression on the face. 

head tilted over the shoulder, mason’s quiet chuckle didn’t reach the female. spread out in front of the football player was a large, plaid blanket. disparate sizes of thick, wooden coasters placed on the soft material, decorating the space further and keeping the kitchen utensils from falling over. 

two plates, one on each side. a large, light brown basket stood ahead of them and revealed the choices of food he made and a bottle of red wine, her favorite one. blinking multiple times in a row, she tried to take in the scenario without fainting or completely freaking out over such a romantic gesture. 

“did you.. like you know.. do this?” the words that stumbled out of her mouth were a mixture of various questions. she couldn’t form a usual row of words without pausing in the middle and start over, completely different than the first time. 

“i did.” mason commented, taking in the credit for the romantic atmosphere and the beautiful decoration of an usual plaid blanket. “the world cup starts soon, and we will leave england in two days. i had to make sure that you don’t forget, or replace me in the meantime.” 

the chuckle that rolled off his tongue sounded effortlessly, but the thoughts of being replaced truly bothered his mind. standing beside him, her head darted from the blanket towards the unfazed face of her boyfriend and back to the surprise picnic. the feeling of admiration mixed with confusion when mason stated his concerns. “i won’t forget you. neither would i ever think about replacing you.” 

the confession made his heart dwell with pride, hammering against the thick bones of the rib cage. “i really don’t know how i deserve you. you’re gentle, loving and most of all, you probably own the greatest amount of genuineness.” 

chuckling to himself, the amusement about her dazzled state disappeared underneath the softness of his voice. the head tilted to the side to look at her, he already found her still widened eyes staring at him. “what?” mason’s eyebrows were raised, the long wrinkles appearing on the forehead. 

she was shamelessly gazing at the dark-haired male, with the one-sided smile. “thank you for this, for loving me and for being such an amazing person.” 

“well, if you don’t stop the compliments, it will be much harder to leave in two days.” shrugging the shoulders, he was fascinated by the control her words had over his emotions. the anxiety vanished underneath the dwelling happiness, and relief. “it’s going to be insane without you. got to prepare to not lose my head after a shit game.” 

“you’ll be okay, mason.” she leaned into him, the red-tinted cheek placed against the shoulder of the male, the lids slowly closing with a smile. “but i’m better when you’re around. it pains me to leave you alone in england.” the confession caused the female’s heart to ache, knowing how difficult it must be for the football player to leave his girlfriend behind for a couple of weeks. 

since the first date, the two saw each other at least every second day until living together in a small house on the outskirts of london. mason loved the privacy, the disparate ways to leave the building with an arm around her, and enjoying the empty streets instead of the brightness of cameras. without a minute to himself, he wouldn’t have been able to prepare such a romantic surprise for his girlfriend.

“you’re my good luck charm, i need to kiss you at least thirty times until i have to be at the airport. one for each day, i could be away from you if we’re getting to the finale.” he lifted the arm and wrapped it tightly around the waist, placing the calloused, long fingers on the side of her hip. fingertips brushed over the fabric of her summer dress, stroking in small circles which were easily felt through the thin material. 

she didn’t answer with words, a slow nod of agreement was enough for the two of them. instead of talking further about the departure, she snuggled her face against the side of his chest. the scent of sweet vanilla and strong musk infiltrated the breaths through the nostrils, and caused the corners of her mouth to lift into a calm smile. 

“let’s settle down, enjoy the sun setting behind the horizon. the stars and the moon decorating the night, and still, nothing could be as mesmerizing as you.” the spoken compliments of admiration tainted the cheeks in a deep watermelon pink, and she couldn’t help herself but giggle softly. “you little charmer.”

[mariacallous]

In February of last year, Donggang Jinhui Foodstuff, a seafood-processing company in Dandong, China, threw a party. It had been a successful year: a new plant had opened, and the company had doubled the amount of squid that it exported to the United States. The party, according to videos posted on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, featured singers, instrumentalists, dancers, fireworks, and strobe lights. One aspect of the company’s success seems to have been its use of North Korean workers, who are sent by their government to work in Chinese factories, in conditions of captivity, to earn money for the state. A seafood trader who does business with Jinhui recently estimated that it employed between fifty and seventy North Koreans. Videos posted by a company representative show machines labelled in Korean, and workers with North Korean accents explaining how to clean squid. At the party, the company played songs that are popular in Pyongyang, including “People Bring Glory to Our Party” (written by North Korea’s 1989 poet laureate) and “We Will Go to Mt. Paektu” (a reference to the widely mythologized birthplace of Kim Jong Il). Performers wore North Korean colors, and the country’s flag billowed behind them; in the audience, dozens of workers held miniature flags.

Drone footage played at the event showed off Jinhui’s twenty-one-acre, fenced-in compound, which has processing and cold-storage facilities and what appears to be a seven-floor dormitory for workers. The company touted a wide array of Western certifications from organizations that claim to check workplaces for labor violations, including the use of North Korean workers. When videos of the party were posted online, a commenter—presumably befuddled, because using these workers violates U.N. sanctions—asked, “Aren’t you prohibited from filming this?”

Like Jinhui, many companies in China rely on a vast program of forced labor from North Korea. (Jinhui did not respond to requests for comment.) The program is run by various entities in the North Korean government, including a secretive agency called Room 39, which oversees activities such as money laundering and cyberattacks, and which funds the country’s nuclear- and ballistic-missile programs. (The agency is so named, according to some defectors, because it is based in the ninth room on the third floor of the Korean Workers’ Party headquarters.) Such labor transfers are not new. In 2012, North Korea sent some forty thousand workers to China. A portion of their salaries was taken by the state, providing a vital source of foreign currency for Party officials: at the time, a Seoul-based think tank estimated that the country made as much as $2.3 billion a year through the program. Since then, North Koreans have been sent to Russia, Poland, Qatar, Uruguay, and Mali.

In 2017, after North Korea tested a series of nuclear and ballistic weapons, the United Nations imposed sanctions that prohibit foreign companies from using North Korean workers. The U.S. passed a law that established a “rebuttable presumption” categorizing work by North Koreans as forced labor unless proven otherwise, and levying fines on companies that import goods tied to these workers. China is supposed to enforce the sanctions in a similar manner. Nevertheless, according to State Department estimates, there are currently as many as a hundred thousand North Koreans working in the country. Many work at construction companies, textile factories, and software firms. Some also process seafood. In 2022, according to Chinese officials running pandemic quarantines, there were some eighty thousand North Koreans just in Dandong, a hub of the seafood industry.

Last year, I set out with a team of researchers to document this phenomenon. We reviewed leaked government documents, promotional materials, satellite imagery, online forums, and local news reports. We watched hundreds of cell-phone videos published on social-media sites. In some, the presence of North Koreans was explicit. Others were examined by experts to detect North Korean accents, language usage, and other cultural markers. Reporting in China is tightly restricted for Western reporters. But we hired Chinese investigators to visit factories and record footage of production lines. I also secretly sent interview questions, through another group of investigators and their contacts, to two dozen North Koreans—twenty workers and four managers—who had recently spent time in Chinese factories. Their anonymous responses were transcribed and sent back to me.

The workers, all of whom are women, described conditions of confinement and violence at the plants. Workers are held in compounds, sometimes behind barbed wire, under the watch of security agents. Many work gruelling shifts and get at most one day off a month. Several described being beaten by the managers sent by North Korea to watch them. “It was like prison for me,” one woman said. “At first, I almost vomited at how bad it was, and, just when I got used to it, the supervisors would tell us to shut up, and curse if we talked.” Many described enduring sexual assault at the hands of their managers. “They would say I’m fuckable and then suddenly grab my body and grope my breasts and put their dirty mouth on mine and be disgusting,” a woman who did product transport at a plant in the city of Dalian said. Another, who worked at Jinhui, said, “The worst and saddest moment was when I was forced to have sexual relations when we were brought to a party with alcohol.” The workers described being kept at the factories against their will, and being threatened with severe punishment if they tried to escape. A woman who was at a factory called Dalian Haiqing Food for more than four years said, “It’s often emphasized that, if you are caught running away, you will be killed without a trace.”

In all, I identified fifteen seafood-processing plants that together seem to have used more than a thousand North Korean workers since 2017. China officially denies that North Korean laborers are in the country. But their presence is an open secret. “They are easy to distinguish,” a Dandong native wrote in a comment on Bilibili, a video-sharing site. “They all wear uniform clothes, have a leader, and follow orders.” Often, footage of the workers ends up online. In a video from a plant called Dandong Yuanyi Refined Seafoods, a dozen women perform a synchronized dance in front of a mural commemorating Youth Day, a North Korean holiday. The video features a North Korean flag emoji and the caption “Beautiful little women from North Korea in Donggang’s cold-storage facility.” (The company did not respond to requests for comment.) Remco Breuker, a North Korea specialist at Leiden University, in the Netherlands, told me, “Hundreds of thousands of North Korean workers have for decades slaved away in China and elsewhere, enriching their leader and his party while facing unconscionable abuse.”

In late 2023, an investigator hired by my team visited a Chinese plant called Donggang Xinxin Foodstuff. He found hundreds of North Korean women working under a red banner that read, in Korean, “Let’s carry out the resolution of the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party.” (The company did not respond to requests for comment.) Soon afterward, the investigator visited a nearby plant called Donggang Haimeng Foodstuff, and found a North Korean manager sitting at a wooden desk with two miniature flags, one Chinese and one North Korean. The walls around the desk were mostly bare except for two portraits of the past North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. The manager took our investigator to the workers’ cafeteria to eat a North Korean cold-noodle dish called naengmyeon, and then gave him a tour of the processing floor. Several hundred North Korean women dressed in red uniforms, plastic aprons, and white rubber boots stood shoulder to shoulder at long metal tables under harsh lights, hunched over plastic baskets of seafood, slicing and sorting products by hand. “They work hard,” the manager said. The factory has exported thousands of tons of fish to companies that supply major U.S. retailers, including Walmart and ShopRite. (A spokesperson for Donggang Haimeng said that it does not hire North Korean workers.)

At times, China aggressively conceals the existence of the program. Alexander Dukalskis, a political-science professor at University College Dublin, said that workers have a hard time making their conditions known. “They’re in a country where they may not speak the language, are under surveillance, usually living collectively, and have no experience in contacting journalists,” he said. In late November, after my team’s investigators visited several plants, authorities distributed pamphlets on the country’s anti-espionage laws. Local officials announced that people who try “to contact North Korean workers, or to approach the workplaces of North Korean workers, will be treated as engaging in espionage activities that endanger national security, and will be punished severely.” They also warned that people who were found to be working in connection with foreign media outlets would face consequences under the Anti-Espionage Act.

Dandong, a city of more than two million people, sits on the Yalu River, just over the border from North Korea. The Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge links Dandong to the North Korean city of Sinuiju. A second bridge, bombed during the Korean War, still extends partway across the river, and serves as a platform from which Chinese residents can view the North Koreans living six hundred yards away. The Friendship Bridge is one of the Hermit Kingdom’s few gateways to the world. Some trade with North Korea is allowed under U.N. sanctions, and nearly seventy per cent of the goods exchanged between that country and China travel across this bridge. At least one department store in Dandong keeps a list of products preferred by North Korean customers. Shops sell North Korean ginseng, beer, and “7.27” cigarettes, named for the date on which the armistice ending the Korean War was signed. The city is home to a museum about the conflict, officially called the Memorial Hall of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. On boat tours, Chinese tourists purchase bags of biscuits to toss to children on the North Korean side of the river.

Government officials carefully select workers to send to China, screening them for their political loyalties to reduce the risk of defections. To qualify, a person must generally have a job at a North Korean company and a positive evaluation from a local Party official. “These checks start at the neighborhood,” Breuker said. Candidates who have family in China, or a relative who has already defected, can be disqualified. For some positions, applicants under twenty-seven years of age who are unmarried must have living parents, who can be punished if they try to defect, according to a report from the South Korean government; applicants over twenty-seven must be married. North Korean authorities even select for height: the country’s population is chronically malnourished, and the state prefers candidates who are taller than five feet one, to avoid the official embarrassment of being represented abroad by short people. Once selected, applicants go through pre-departure training, which can last a year and often includes government-run classes covering everything from Chinese customs and etiquette to “enemy operations” and the activities of other countries’ intelligence agencies. (The North Korean government did not respond to requests for comment.)

The governments of both countries coördinate to place workers, most of whom are women, with seafood companies. The logistics are often handled by local Chinese recruitment agencies, and advertisements can be found online. A video posted on Douyin this past September announced the availability of twenty-five hundred North Koreans, and a commenter asked if they could be sent to seafood factories. A post on a forum advertised five thousand workers; a commenter asked if any spoke Mandarin, and the poster replied, “There is a team leader, management, and an interpreter.” A company called Jinuo Human Resources posted, “I am a human-resources company coöperating with the embassy, and currently have a large number of regular North Korean workers.” Several people expressed interest. (The company did not respond to requests for comment.)

Jobs in China are coveted in North Korea, because they often come with contracts promising salaries of around two hundred and seventy dollars a month. (Similar work in North Korea pays just three dollars a month.) But the jobs come with hidden costs. Workers usually sign two- or three-year contracts. When they arrive in China, managers confiscate their passports. Inside the factories, North Korean workers wear different uniforms than Chinese workers. “Without this, we couldn’t tell if one disappeared,” a manager said. Shifts run as long as sixteen hours. If workers attempt to escape, or complain to people outside the plants, their families at home can face reprisals. One seafood worker described how managers cursed at her and flicked cigarette butts. “I felt bad, and I wanted to fight them, but I had to endure,” she said. “That was when I was sad.”

Workers get few, if any, holidays or sick days. At seafood plants, the women sleep in bunk beds in locked dormitories, sometimes thirty to a room. One worker, who spent four years processing clams in Dandong, estimated that more than sixty per cent of her co-workers suffered from depression. “We regretted coming to China but couldn’t go back empty-handed,” she said. Workers are forbidden to tune in to local TV or radio. They are sometimes allowed to leave factory grounds—say, to go shopping—but generally in groups of no more than three, and accompanied by a minder. Mail is scrutinized by North Korean security agents who also “surveil the daily life and report back with official reports,” one manager said. Sometimes the women are allowed to socialize. In a video titled “North Korean beauties working in China play volleyball,” posted in 2022, women in blue-and-white uniforms exercise on the grounds of the Dandong Omeca Food seafood plant. (The company that owns the plant did not respond to requests for comment.) A commenter wrote, “The joy of poverty. That’s just how it is.”

Factories typically give the women’s money to their managers, who take cuts for themselves and the government, and hold on to the rest until the workers’ terms in China end. Kim Jieun, a North Korean defector who now works for Radio Free Asia, said that companies tell workers their money is safer this way, because it could be stolen in the dormitories. But, in the end, workers often see less than ten per cent of their promised salary. One contract that I reviewed stipulated that around forty dollars would be deducted each month by the state to pay for food. More is sometimes deducted for electricity, housing, heat, water, insurance, and “loyalty” payments to the state. Managers also hold on to wages to discourage defections. The women have been warned, Kim added, that if they try to defect “they will be immediately caught by Chinese CCTV cameras installed everywhere.” This past October, Chinese authorities repatriated around six hundred North Korean defectors. “China does not recognize North Korean defectors as refugees,” Edward Howell, who teaches politics at Oxford University, told me. “If they are caught by Chinese authorities, they will be forcibly returned to the D.P.R.K., where they face harsh punishment in labor camps.”

Chinese companies have significant incentives to use North Korean workers. They’re typically paid only a quarter of what local employees earn. And they are generally excluded from mandatory social-welfare programs (regarding retirement, medical treatment, work-related injury, and maternity), which further reduces costs. In 2017, Dandong’s Commerce Bureau announced a plan to create a cluster of garment factories that would use North Korean labor. The bureau’s Web site noted that all such workers undergo political screenings to make sure they are “rooted, red, and upright.” “The discipline among the workers is extremely strong,” it added. “There are no instances of absenteeism or insubordination toward leadership, and there are no occurrences of feigning illness or delaying work.” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to questions for this piece, but last year the Chinese Ambassador to the U.N. wrote that China has abided by sanctions even though it has sustained “great losses” as a result. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently said that China and North Korea have “enjoyed long-standing friendly ties,” adding, “The United States needs to draw lessons, correct course, step up to its responsibility, stop heightening the pressure and sanctions, stop military deterrence, and take effective steps to resume meaningful dialogue.”

North Koreans face difficult circumstances across industries. In January of this year, more than two thousand workers rioted in Jilin Province, breaking sewing machines and kitchen utensils, when they learned that their wages would be withheld. Many North Koreans—perhaps thousands—work in Russian logging, in brutal winter weather without proper clothing. Hundreds have been found working in the Russian construction industry; some lived in shipping containers or in the basements of buildings under construction, because better accommodations were not provided. One recounted working shifts that lasted from 7:30 A.M. to 3 A.M. In preparation for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, held in Russia and Qatar, thousands of North Koreans were sent to build stadiums and luxury apartments. A subcontractor who worked alongside the North Koreans in Russia told the Guardian that they lived in cramped spaces, with as many as eight people packed into a trailer, in an atmosphere of fear and abuse like “prisoners of war.”

Although it’s illegal in the U.S. to import goods made with North Korean labor, the law can be difficult to enforce. Some eighty per cent of seafood consumed in America, for example, is imported, and much of it comes from China through opaque supply chains. To trace the importation of seafood from factories that appear to be using North Korean labor, my team reviewed trade data, shipping contracts, and the codes that are stamped on seafood packages to monitor food safety. We found that, since 2017, ten of these plants have together shipped more than a hundred and twenty thousand tons of seafood to more than seventy American importers, which supplied grocery stores including Walmart, Giant, ShopRite, and the online grocer Weee! The seafood from these importers also ended up at major restaurant chains, like McDonald’s, and with Sysco, the largest food distributor in the world, which supplies almost half a million restaurants, as well as the cafeterias on American military bases, in public schools, and for the U.S. Congress. (Walmart, Weee!, and McDonald’s did not respond to requests for comment. Giant’s parent company, Ahold Delhaize, and ShopRite’s parent company, Wakefern, said their suppliers claimed that they currently do not source from the Chinese plant in question, and added that audit reports showed no evidence of forced labor.)

Two of the plants that investigators from my team visited—Dandong Galicia Seafood and Dalian Haiqing Food—had an estimated fifty to seventy North Korean workers apiece. One worker who has been employed at Galicia said that the managers are “so stingy with money that they don’t allow us to get proper medical treatment even when we are sick.” Galicia and Haiqing have shipped roughly a hundred thousand tons of seafood to American importers since 2017, and Haiqing also shipped to an importer that supplies the cafeterias of the European Parliament. (Dalian Haiqing Food said that it “does not employ overseas North Korean workers.” Dandong Galicia Seafood did not respond to requests for comment. One of the U.S. importers tied to Haiqing, Trident Seafoods, said that audits “found no evidence or even suspicion” of North Korean labor at the plant. Several companies, including Trident, High Liner, and Sysco, said that they would sever ties with the plant while they conducted their own investigations. A spokesperson for the European Parliament said that its food contractor did not supply seafood from the plant.) Breuker, from Leiden University, told me that American customers quietly benefit from this arrangement. “This labor-transfer system is for North Korea and China as economically successful as it is morally reprehensible,” he said. “It’s also a boon for the West because of the cheap goods we get as a result.”

North Korea doesn’t just export seafood workers; it also exports fish—another means by which the government secures foreign currency. Importing North Korean seafood is forbidden by U.N. sanctions, but it also tends to be inexpensive, which encourages companies to skirt the rules. Sometimes Chinese fishing companies pay the North Korean government for illegal licenses to fish in North Korea’s waters. Sometimes they buy fish from other boats at sea: a letter from a North Korean, leaked in 2022, proposed selling ten thousand tons of squid to a Chinese company in return for more than eighteen million dollars and five hundred tons of diesel fuel. Sometimes the seafood is trucked over the border. This trade is poorly hidden. In October, a Chinese man who said his last name was Cui posted a video on Douyin advertising crabs from North Korea. When someone commented, “The goods can’t be shipped,” Cui responded with laughing emojis. In other videos, he explained that he operated a processing plant in North Korea, and gave information on the timing of shipments that he planned to send across the border. When I contacted Cui, he said that he had stopped importing North Korean seafood in 2016 (though the videos were actually from last year), and added, “It’s none of your business, and I don’t care who you are.” My team found that seafood from North Korea was imported by several American distributors, including HF Foods, which supplies more than fifteen thousand Asian restaurants in the U.S. (HF Foods did not respond to requests for comment.)

Chinese companies often claim that they are in compliance with labor laws because they have passed “social audits,” which are conducted by firms that inspect worksites for abuses. But half the Chinese plants that we found using North Korean workers have certifications from the Marine Stewardship Council, which is based in the U.K. and sets standards for granting sustainability certifications, but only to companies that have also passed social audits or other labor assessments. (Jackie Marks, an M.S.C. spokesperson, told me that these social audits are conducted by a third party, and that “We make no claims about setting standards on labor.”) Last year, one of my team’s investigators visited a seafood-processing plant in northeastern China called Dandong Taifeng Foodstuff. The company has been designated a “national brand,” a status reserved for the country’s most successful companies, and supplies thousands of tons of seafood to grocery stores in the U.S. and elsewhere. At the plant, our investigator was given a tour by a North Korean manager. On the factory floor, which was lit by bright fluorescent bulbs, more than a hundred and fifty North Korean women, most of them under thirty-five years old, wore head-to-toe white protective clothing, plastic aprons, white rubber boots, and red gloves that went up to their elbows. They stood with their heads down, moving red, yellow, and blue plastic bins of seafood. Water puddled at their feet. “Quick, quick,” one woman said to the other members of her small group. (Taifeng did not respond to requests for comment.) Just weeks after that visit, the plant was recertified by the Marine Stewardship Council.

Marcus Noland, who works at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said, of social audits within the seafood industry, “The basic stance appears to be ‘See no evil.’ ” Skepticism of such audits is growing. In 2021, the U.S. State Department said that social audits in China are generally inadequate for identifying forced labor, in part because auditors rely on government translators and rarely speak directly to workers. Auditors can be reluctant to anger the companies that have hired them, and workers face reprisals for reporting abuses. This past November, U.S. Customs and Border Protection advised American companies that a credible assessment would require an “unannounced independent, third-party audit” and “interviews completed in native language.” Liana Foxvog, who works at a nonprofit called the Worker Rights Consortium, argues that assessments should involve other checks too, including off-site worker interviews. But she noted that most audits in China fall short even of C.B.P.’s standards.

Joshua Stanton, an attorney based in Washington, D.C., who helped draft the American law that banned goods produced with North Korean labor, argues that the government is not doing enough to enforce it. “The U.S. government will need to put more pressure on American companies, and those companies need to be more diligent about their suppliers and their supply chains, or face stricter sanctions,” he said. Chris Smith, a Republican congressman from New Jersey and a specialist on China, noted that social audits “create a Potemkin village.” He added, “The consequence is that millions of dollars, even federal dollars, are going to Chinese plants using North Korean workers, and that money then goes right into the hands of Kim Jong Un’s regime, which uses the money to arm our adversaries and repress its own people.”

Late last year, when I set out to contact North Koreans who had been sent to China, I ran into significant obstacles. Western journalists are barred from entering North Korea, and citizens of the country are strictly prohibited from talking freely to reporters. I hired a team of investigators in South Korea who employ contacts in North Korea to get information out of the country for local and Western news outlets—for example, about food shortages, power outages, or the rise of anti-government graffiti. The investigators compiled a list of two dozen North Koreans who had been dispatched to a half-dozen different Chinese factories, most of whom had since returned home. The investigators’ contacts then met with these workers in secret, one-on-one, so that the workers wouldn’t know one another’s identity. The meetings usually occurred in open fields, or on the street, where it’s harder for security agents to conduct surveillance.

The workers were told that their responses would be shared publicly by an American journalism outlet. They faced considerable risk speaking out; experts told me that, if they were caught, they could be executed, and their families put in prison camps. But they agreed to talk because they believe that it is important for the rest of the world to know what happens to workers who are sent to China. The North Korean contacts transcribed their answers by hand, and then took photos of the completed questionnaires and sent them, using encrypted phones, to the investigators, who sent them to me. North Koreans who are still in China were interviewed in a similar fashion. Because of these layers of protection, it is, of course, impossible to fully verify the content of the interviews. But the responses were reviewed by experts to make sure that they are consistent with what is broadly known about the work-transfer program, and in line with interviews given by North Korean defectors. (Recently, the investigators checked in on the interviewers and interviewees, and everyone was safe.)

In their answers, the workers described crushing loneliness. The work was arduous, the factories smelled, and violence was common. “They kicked us and treated us as subhuman,” the worker who processed clams in Dandong said. Asked if they could recount any happy moments, most said that there had been none. A few said that they felt relieved when they returned home and got some of their pay. “I was happy when the money wasn’t all taken out,” the woman who did product transport in Dalian said. One woman said that her experience at a Chinese plant made her feel like she “wanted to die.” Another said that she often felt tired and upset while she was working, but kept those thoughts to herself to avoid reprisals. “It was lonely,” she said. “I hated the military-like communal life.”

The most striking pattern was the women’s description of sexual abuse. Of twenty workers, seventeen said that they had been sexually assaulted by their North Korean managers. They described a range of tactics used to coerce them into having sex. Some managers pretended to wipe something from their uniforms, only to grope them. Some called them into their offices as if there were an emergency, then demanded sex. Others asked them to serve alcohol at a weekend party, then assaulted them there. “When they drank, they touched my body everywhere like playing with toys,” a woman said. The woman who did product transport in Dalian said, “When they suddenly put their mouths to mine, I wanted to throw up.” If the women didn’t comply, the managers could become violent. The worker who was at Haiqing for more than four years said, of her manager, “When he doesn’t get his way sexually, he gets angry and kicks me. . . . He calls me a ‘fucking bitch.’ ” Three of the women said that their managers had forced workers into prostitution. “Whenever they can, they flirt with us to the point of nausea and force us to have sex for money, and it’s even worse if you’re pretty,” another worker at Haiqing said. The worker from Jinhui noted, “Even when there was no work during the pandemic, the state demanded foreign-currency funds out of loyalty, so managers forced workers to sell their bodies.” The worker who spent more than four years at Haiqing said, of the managers, “They forced virgin workers into prostitution, claiming that they had to meet state-set quotas.”

The pandemic made life more difficult for many of the women. When China closed its borders, some found themselves trapped far from home. Often, their workplaces shut down, and they lost their incomes. North Korean workers sometimes pay bribes to government officials to secure posts in China, and, during the pandemic, many borrowed these funds from loan sharks. The loans, typically between two and three thousand dollars, came with high interest rates. Because of work stoppages in China, North Korean workers were unable to pay back their loans, and loan sharks sent thugs to their relatives’ homes to intimidate them. Some of their families had to sell their houses to settle the debts. In 2023, according to Radio Free Asia, two North Korean women at textile plants killed themselves. The worker who told me that she wanted to die said that such deaths are often kept hidden. “If someone dies from suicide, then the manager is responsible, so they keep it under wraps to keep it from being leaked to other workers or Chinese people,” she said.

This past year, pandemic restrictions were lifted, and the border between China and North Korea reopened. In August, some three hundred North Korean workers boarded ten buses in Dandong to go back home. Police officers lined up around the buses to prevent defections. In photos and a video of the event, some of the women can be seen hurriedly preparing to load large suitcases onto a neon-green bus, then riding away across the Friendship Bridge. In September, another three hundred boarded a passenger train to Sinuiju, and two hundred were repatriated by plane. Workers who return face intense questioning by officials. “They asked about every single thing that happened every day from morning to evening in China, about other workers, supervisors, and agents,” the worker who processed clams in Dandong explained. As 2023 ended, the North Korean government began planning to dispatch its next wave of workers. In the past couple of years, according to reporting by Hyemin Son, a North Korean defector who works for Radio Free Asia, labor brokers have requested that Chinese companies pay a large advance; they were being asked to pay ahead of time, one broker told her, because “Chinese companies cannot operate without North Korean manpower.”

Some North Korean workers have yet to go home. One woman said that she has spent the past several years gutting fish at a processing plant in Dalian. She described working late into the night and getting sores in her mouth from stress and exhaustion. In the questionnaire, I had asked about the worst part of her job, and she said, “When I am forced to have sex.” She also described a sense of imprisonment that felt suffocating. “If you show even the slightest attitude, they will treat you like an insect,” she said. “Living a life where we can’t see the outside world as we please is so difficult that it’s killing us.” ♦

[middleeastblogs]

Spotlight on Outdoor Lights: Enhancing Spaces with Street, Wall, and Spot Lights

Outdoor lighting plays a crucial role in both aesthetics and functionality, enhancing the ambiance and safety of various spaces. This article explores the versatility and benefits of street lights, wall lights, and spotlights, highlighting their importance in outdoor environments.

Introduction to Outdoor Lights

Outdoor lights serve multiple purposes, from illuminating pathways and enhancing architectural features to providing security and visibility in public spaces. The variety of outdoor lighting options available, including street lights, wall lights, and spotlights, allows for customized solutions that cater to specific lighting needs and preferences.

Street Lights: Ensuring Safety and Visibility

Street lights are essential for lighting up roads, streets, and public areas during nighttime hours. They provide visibility for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists, enhancing safety and reducing the risk of accidents. Modern street lights incorporate energy-efficient technologies such as LED bulbs, which offer long lifespans and reduced energy consumption compared to traditional lighting sources.

Wall Lights: Adding Architectural Accentuation

Wall lights are versatile fixtures that contribute to the aesthetics of buildings and outdoor spaces. They can be used to highlight architectural details, illuminate entrances and pathways, or create a welcoming atmosphere. Wall lights come in various designs and styles, from sleek contemporary fixtures to vintage-inspired lanterns, allowing for seamless integration into different architectural styles and outdoor settings.

Spotlights: Versatile Lighting Solutions

Spotlights are powerful directional lights that can be used to highlight specific features or focal points in outdoor environments. They are commonly used to accentuate trees, sculptures, landscaping elements, or signage, adding drama and visual interest to gardens, parks, and commercial properties. LED spotlights are preferred for their precision, durability, and ability to create focused beams of light with minimal energy consumption.

Integration of Outdoor Lights in Landscape Design

In landscape design, the strategic placement of outdoor lights enhances the overall ambiance and functionality of outdoor spaces. Combining street lights along pathways, wall lights for architectural accentuation, and spotlights for focal points creates a cohesive lighting scheme that balances aesthetics and practicality. Landscape architects and designers leverage outdoor lighting to create inviting environments that can be enjoyed both day and night.

Benefits of Energy-Efficient Outdoor Lighting

Energy-efficient outdoor lighting, such as LED street lights, wall lights, and spotlights, offers numerous benefits beyond reduced energy consumption. These lights produce bright, clear illumination while minimizing light pollution and glare, contributing to a more sustainable and eco-friendly outdoor environment. Additionally, energy-efficient outdoor lights require less maintenance and have longer lifespans, resulting in cost savings for property owners and municipalities.

Case Studies: Successful Implementation of Outdoor Lighting

Real-world examples demonstrate the effectiveness of outdoor lighting solutions in enhancing public spaces and private properties. A city implements LED street lights to improve safety and reduce energy costs, while a hotel enhances its façade with elegant wall lights that complement its architectural style. Similarly, a botanical garden utilizes spotlights to showcase rare plant species, creating an enchanting nighttime experience for visitors.

Challenges in Outdoor Lighting Design

Designing effective outdoor lighting solutions involves addressing challenges such as light pollution, uniformity of illumination, and compliance with lighting regulations. Balancing aesthetics with functionality requires careful consideration of lighting placement, fixture selection, and light intensity to achieve desired lighting effects without causing adverse impacts on the environment or neighboring properties.

Future Trends in Outdoor Lighting

Future trends in outdoor lighting focus on integrating smart technologies, such as motion sensors and dimmable controls, to enhance energy efficiency and responsiveness. Smart outdoor lighting systems can automatically adjust lighting levels based on ambient conditions or occupancy, optimizing energy use while maintaining safety and security. Additionally, advancements in sustainable materials and design practices will continue to drive innovation in outdoor lighting solutions.

Conclusion

Outdoor lights, including street lights, wall lights, and spotlights, are integral components of modern outdoor environments, enhancing safety, aesthetics, and functionality. By leveraging diverse lighting options and incorporating energy-efficient technologies, property owners, municipalities, and designers can create inviting outdoor spaces that are both visually appealing and environmentally responsible.

In summary, outdoor lights play a vital role in transforming outdoor spaces into vibrant, safe, and aesthetically pleasing environments. Whether illuminating city streets, enhancing architectural features, or highlighting natural landscapes, outdoor lights contribute to creating memorable experiences and improving quality of life for residents and visitors alike.

[businessarticlesclone]

The Magic of Wall Washers: How These Lighting Fixtures Can Transform Your Home

Lighting is an essential aspect of interior design that can dramatically impact the mood and atmosphere of a space. It can create focal points, enhance architectural features, and set the overall ambiance of a room. Among the various types of lighting fixtures available, wall washers have gained popularity for their unique ability to transform homes into visually stunning spaces. In this article,…

[arunima123]

lighting companies in qatar |  lighting suppliers in qatar

Lighting suppliers in qatar providing  commercial lighting

[velvetsainz]

okay i gotta say it: foisting alphatauri's renaming as a great tragedy of capitalism upon formula 1 racing & motorsport in general is...a bit much. especially in a sport that has been a very frequent and early adopter of sportswashing? baby, they happily race in places that have less-than-stellar current human rights records BECAUSE OF THE MONEY. it has nothing to do with attendance. you think bahrain and qatar are major ticket sellers and people were truly clamoring for races there? NO, OF COURSE NOT. it's b/c their governments poured hundreds of millions of dollars (if not more) of government money into f1 and the FIA in the name of sanitizing their nation's image in light of ongoing reports of abhorrent treatment of migrant workers and violent action against other groups inside and outside of their countries. (does really no one remember the 2022 saudia arabian gp? the fact the drivers HAD to race—despite close proximity of the track to a recent missile strike site—for fear that they wouldn't have been allowed to leave by the saudi government? no one? just me?) saudi arabia, bahrain, qatar, the uae, and azerbijan are important current examples, but this is by no means new for the sport; india, malaysia, apartheid south africa, china (which may be returning to the calendar this year—it remains to be seen if the race will actually happen), russia, peronist argentina, and turkey have all held races previously with similar intentions.

and if you want to talk about sponsors, let's actually go after the sponsors that are truly problematic. aston martin ARAMCO. mercedes-amg PETRONAS. camel, marlboro (and philip morris, in general, including their "mission winnow" shell project), orlen, shell, agip, uralkali, ftx (along with other crypto companies), among a plethora of historic sponsors.

listen: i'm not saying that the "visa cashapp racing bulls" (or "stake f1 team kick sauber", for that matter) is a great name for a team—or even a good one—but there are much bigger, much worse issues in the sport that need more attention and more concern than a shitty team name or two.

[colorisbyshe]

hello, I recently saw a post by yiu talking about Palestine and I wanted to ask, what sources do you consider trustworthy in thus matter?

I'm sorry if it comes out as weird that I'm asking you but I just don't know where else to ask

Hind, Plestia, Motaz, and Bisan are the most consistent and "real" people to follow in that they very regularly update, are speaking quite bluntly and on a personal level, and try to show current events on multiple levels--not just recording the violence, the death, but also the daily lives. Think of reporting "Oh, there's finally aid trucks in the area" which states what things are TECHNICALLY happening vs Bisan just saying "Yeah, the aid trucks are here and no one is getting fed."

There's also Mohammed El Kurd who really shines a blunt light on the reality of what's happening.

Al Jazeera is good. There are issues with Al Jazeera being funded by Qatar but their reporting when it comes to Palestine is pretty good.

I think Adam Johnson is pretty great in terms of responding to American/Western actions and contextualizing/pushing back against American Political Speak.

Euro-Med Monitor probably has the most accurate death counts for what is happening in Palestine, as they also include bodies under the rubble which are presumed dead.

Also, Muhammad Smiry sometimes runs live streams so you can see what's happening on the ground and just answers questions. I only just now remembered him.

But I need to be honest and clear here: in many ways, I am a bad source to give you good sources. I am a lay person. A white citizen in America. Even when I try to get as much of this directly from Palestinians or groups on the ground (like doctors without borders who have issues but have been reporting very openly about the reality on the ground), I do not have the most in depth knowledge. I was not following this closely before October 7th.

I am far from immune from bad information.

So, more than just hitting subscribe or follow on anyone listed. I recommend you devise your own set of tools to find good peopel to follow on twitter and instagram. Ask yourself questions like:

Who is this person? Who do they work for? Who owns what they work for?

Where are they from? What is their connection to Palestine?

Is what they're saying racist against Arabs/Palestinians?

Is what they're saying antisemitic? (And people are SLACKING on this front.)

If they are not on the ground themselves, where are they getting their information from?

Are they known conservatives?

Pause--does it seem like they are using this tragedy for personal gain somehow?

Are they posting primarily information or commentary? If they aren't Palestinian or in any way connected to this, what perspective is tehir commentary coming from? What is its value?

(To be clear, not all commentary is bad. Again, I like Adam Johnson because he is providing commentary aimed primarily at his lane--media bias in the US, political dishonesty, and similar bullshit. He runs an entire, fairly well sourced podcast on the subject in general and is just applying those skills... to current events.)

I'm definitely missing some people/groups worth following. I'm also perhaps over-emphasizing how much you should be following Bisan and company. Definitely follow them, don't let them be your only source of information. Diversify. Do you own historical research--don't just look to people to post current events, look into the past to better understand context. Fall down a rabbit hole or two.

Umm.... I guess beyond all that just DONT follow fucking Shaun King. Known grifter. And everyone pleaseeee stop cheerleading clips from Piers Morgan. It's mostly stopped now but in the beginning some of y'all were stressing me out.

[cinderellapeter]

4 Visible Signs To Replace Your Flood Lights

Floodlights play a crucial role in providing illumination and security to outdoor spaces, whether it's your home, office, or any commercial establishment. However, like any other lighting fixture, floodlights have a lifespan and eventually need to be replaced. Recognizing when it's time to replace your floodlights can save you from potential safety hazards and ensure your outdoor areas remain well-lit and secure. In this article, we'll discuss four visible signs that indicate it's time to replace your floodlights.

1. Dimming or Flickering Light

One of the most obvious signs that your floodlights need replacing is when they start to dim or flicker. Dimming or flickering lights can be caused by various factors, including bulb deterioration, loose connections, or internal wiring issues. As floodlights age, their bulbs may lose brightness and efficiency, resulting in inconsistent illumination.

Moreover, flickering lights can be a safety concern as they may indicate underlying electrical problems. If you notice your floodlights flickering intermittently or becoming increasingly dim, it's advisable to replace them promptly to prevent potential electrical hazards and ensure adequate lighting for your outdoor spaces.

2. Yellowing or Discoloration

Over time, exposure to environmental elements such as sunlight, rain, and humidity can cause the housing or lens of your floodlights to yellow or discolor. This discoloration not only affects the aesthetics of your outdoor lighting but also compromises the performance and effectiveness of the floodlights.

Yellowing or discolored lenses can obstruct the passage of light, resulting in reduced brightness and coverage area. Additionally, it may indicate deterioration of the materials used in the construction of the floodlights, making them more susceptible to damage and weathering. If your floodlights exhibit significant yellowing or discoloration, it's a clear indication that they need to be replaced to maintain optimal lighting quality and performance.

3. Corrosion or Rust

Floodlights installed in outdoor environments are constantly exposed to moisture, humidity, and other environmental factors that can lead to corrosion and rusting of metal components. Corrosion not only affects the appearance of the floodlights but also compromises their structural integrity and electrical connections. Try to choose the best lighting suppliers in Qatar.

Inspect your floodlights regularly for signs of corrosion, particularly on metal surfaces, mounting brackets, and electrical terminals. Rust or corrosion buildup can weaken the structural stability of the floodlights, making them more susceptible to damage from weather elements or physical impact. Furthermore, corroded electrical connections pose a fire hazard and can result in electrical malfunctions or short circuits.

If you notice any signs of corrosion or rust on your floodlights, it's essential to replace them promptly to prevent further deterioration and ensure safe and reliable operation.

4. Excessive Noise or Vibration

Another visible sign that your floodlights need replacing is the presence of excessive noise or vibration during operation. While it's normal for floodlights to emit a low hum or vibration while in use, unusually loud or persistent noise may indicate underlying mechanical issues or component wear.

Excessive noise or vibration can be caused by several factors, including worn-out bearings, loose mounting hardware, or imbalanced internal components. These mechanical issues not only affect the performance and efficiency of the floodlights but also increase the risk of premature failure or malfunction.

If you notice any unusual noise or vibration coming from your floodlights, it's advisable to inspect them thoroughly and consider replacing them if the problem persists. Ignoring these warning signs can lead to more significant issues and potential safety hazards down the line.

Recognizing the visible signs that indicate it's time to replace your floodlights is essential for maintaining adequate lighting and security in your outdoor spaces. Whether it's dimming or flickering lights, yellowing or discoloration, corrosion or rust, or excessive noise or vibration, addressing these issues promptly can help prevent safety hazards and ensure the longevity and effectiveness of your outdoor lighting system. Also find some other illuminating lights such as Net light & Underground lighting. Regular inspection and maintenance of your floodlights are key to identifying potential problems early and taking proactive measures to address them. By staying vigilant and responsive to the signs of wear and deterioration, you can enjoy reliable and efficient outdoor lighting for years to come.